External platform extensions in a multi-tenant environment

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems are described for allowing third party developers to add extensions to a cloud service provider&#39;s software as a service (SaaS) services by editing an ‘empty’ config file according to a schema provided by the cloud service provider to form a delta file and then merging the delta file with an internal, full version of the config file. The full config file is then used to initialize and instantiate objects upon a restart of the cloud provider&#39;s services.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of, and claims benefit and priorityto application Ser. No. 14/016,582, filed Sep. 3, 2013, entitled“EXTERNAL PLATFORM EXTENSIONS IN A MULTI-TENANT ENVIRONMENT,” now U.S.Pat. No. 9,495,143, which claims benefit and priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/858,476, filed Jul.25, 2013. The entire contents of each of the above-identified patentapplications are incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Art

Generally, the present application relates to data processing.Specifically, the application is related to third-party servicesprovided in a cloud computing environment.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

Cloud computing is a model for enabling convenient, on-demand networkaccess to a shared pool of configurable computing resources. Theseresources can include network connections, server processing power,storage, applications, services, and other resources in demand.

Many terms in cloud computing have either sprouted anew or taken onadditional meaning as the concept of relying on an outside party with anoffsite computer to store and process one's data becomes acceptable andmore popular with businesses and the general public.

A “service” includes an autonomous unit of functionality in softwarerepresenting a single action. A service provides interaction via aprescribed input and out protocol. Services can be built from a softwarecomponent or series of components; however, services generally cannotembed other services within them.

A “component” includes a modular part of a software system thatencapsulates its content and whose manifestation is replaceable withinits environment. A component can define its behavior in terms ofprovided and required interfaces. Multiple components can be combinedtogether to form aggregated portions of a system or other components.

A “tool” includes a grouping of components with a user-facing mechanismto perform a task.

A “package” includes a logical grouping of software elements to providea namespace for the grouped elements. A package may contain otherpackages, thus providing for a hierarchical organization of packages.Packages typically contain elements from a single layer of anarchitecture.

A “sub-system” includes a grouping of elements to provide a physicalimplementation structure. A sub-system may contain other sub-systems. Asub-system is typically a manifestation of a package or packagesassociated with a physical system.

A “multi-tenant environment” includes a computing environment in which asingle instance of a software application or software services runs on aserver that concurrently executes for multiple client organizations(i.e., tenants). Such an environment keeps each client organization'svariables separate, even when processing time and memory space areshared.

There is a need in the art for better, more efficient, and customizablecloud computing services that are scalable for large enterprises.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Generally, what is described is a multi-tenant cloud application that isrestarted with a config file that has been merged with a delta file (ofa ‘blank’ config file) populated by a third party developer for itsadd-in. The merging safely adds the third-party developer's configs tothe master configuration file, so that the add-in can execute on thecloud, without having to expose parts of the config file that areinternal to the cloud services provider.

The config file can be an extensible markup language (XML) filecompliant with an XML schema defined in an XSD file. The XSD schema filecan specify or otherwise define elements, child elements, and attributesof the elements.

Given a ‘blank’ version of an XML configuration file from the cloudservice provider, that is, a version of the XML configuration file withno configs or child elements in it, a third party developer or otherprogrammer can populate the XML config file with elements concerning hisor her third party extension. The third party developer's XMLconfiguration file is treated as a delta file, showing ‘changes’ by thethird party developer to the config file.

The delta file is placed in a MAR (Mozilla archive formatted file) withjar files for the third party extension and included in an Oraclemetadata services (MDS) customization file. The MDS customization fileis then sent back to the cloud service provider and put in a sharedlibrary of class files. This shared library is the same library that thecloud provider uses for its own files.

Upon a restart of the cloud server, the various configuration files inthe shared library—including the delta file—are automatically mergedtogether in a unified configuration file. The unified configuration filemay be assembled in memory only and not saved separately to disk orother non-volatile memory. The unified configuration file, with theconfigs from the third-party developer, is then read to instantiateobjects. The objects are instantiated from classes in the shared libraryof files, including those delivered by the third party developer in theMAR file. The instantiated objects make up the new, executable cloudapplication.

Embodiments of the invention relate to a method of enforcing accesscontrol of features in a multi-tenant cloud environment. The methodincludes reading a file schema that defines an element, a child element,and an attribute, defining, in a config file that is compatible with thefile schema, a service access rule for a feature of a service in amulti-tenant cloud environment, the defining using the element, thechild element, and the attribute, delivering a copy of the config file,allowing editing the copy of the config file to define a service accessof the feature, determining, using a processor operatively coupled witha memory, changes to the copy of the config file made during editing tocreate a delta file, packaging the delta file in an archive that isincluded in a shared library of class files, merging the delta file withthe config file to create an executable code config file having afeature for the service, reading, by a service, the executable codeconfig file, initializing objects for the service with the feature usingthe executable code config file, and instantiating objects for thefeature of the service using the executable code config file.

The method can include creating the file schema that defines an element,a child element, and an attribute. The method can also include actuallyediting the copy of the config file to define a service access of thefeature. And the method can include instantiating objects for thefeature of the service using the executable code config file such thatmultiple tenants in the multi-tenant cloud environment can access thefeature of the service.

Yet other embodiments relate to systems and machine-readable tangiblestorage media that employ or store instructions for the methodsdescribed above.

This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features ofthe claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used in isolationto determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject mattershould be understood by reference to appropriate portions of the entirespecification of this patent, any or all drawings and each claim.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Illustrative embodiments of the present invention are described indetail below with reference to the following drawing figures:

FIG. 1 illustrates logical layers of a cloud-based Software as a Service(SaaS) platform in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates logical layers of an instance of a cloud-based SaaSplatform in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates physical layers of a cloud-based SaaS platform inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates the passing of configuration files in accordance withan embodiment.

FIG. 5 shows an XML schema in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 6 shows an internal XML config file in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 7 shows a blank XML config file in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 8 shows additions to the blank XML config file in accordance withan embodiment.

FIG. 9 shows a delta file in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 10 shows a merged config file in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 11 depicts a simplified diagram of a distributed system forimplementing one of the embodiments.

FIG. 12 is a simplified block diagram of components of a systemenvironment by which services provided by the components of anembodiment system may be offered as cloud services, in accordance withan embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary computer system, in which variousembodiments of the present invention may be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, specificdetails are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding ofembodiments of the invention. However, it will be apparent that variousembodiments may be practiced without these specific details. The figuresand description are not intended to be restrictive.

Overview

An exemplary embodiment is a completely upgraded version of the afinancial management suite of products built using the standard Oracletechnology stack for enterprise performance management (EPM)applications. It is an enterprise-level application suite forbusinesses. Initial versions may release on a cloud based system only,but other versions may release on local networks at customer sites.

The exemplary embodiment can be an extensible application developmentplatform for the production of a number of financial applications. Thefinancial applications themselves can be produced in a phased roll-outschedule with phase one concentrating on financial close, financialplanning and tax. One guiding principle for the design and production ofthese applications is that they will be declarative and metadata driven.

The exemplary embodiment is designed in compliance with a targetarchitecture. The target architecture defines three distinctarchitectural sections: Core Fusion Middleware (FMW), Platform Layers,and Application Layers. The exemplary embodiment can use the samearchitectural sectioning leveraging as much of the Core FMW section. Itcan build a Platform Layer section for common functionality and thenallow applications to build on top of the Platform in the ApplicationLayers sections.

Architectural layering is provided to enforce a dependency graph betweenlayers in the system. A layer can “reach” down the entire layerhierarchy of the dependency graph to directly use and embed any lowerlayer's artifacts. The dependency is typically directed with no circulardependencies allowed. Conversely, a layer generally cannot reach back upthe heirarchy.

The architectural layers provide natural implementation, production, anddelivery boundaries facilitating parallel development. Architecturallayering provides loose coupling defined by published interfaces. Thisallows clear ownership and responsibility of sub-systems andsub-packages.

An architectural layer groups like aspects of the system together. A“layer” defines an encapsulated set of software artifacts that interactwithin the layer to provide desired functionality. These artifacts arethen available to layers higher in the architectural stack via publishedinterfaces

FIG. 1 depicts functional architecture 100 of an embodiment. At the toplayer, applications are within Blake Applications layer 102. In the nextlayer down, Blake Application UI Components Layer 104, there arecontained application user interface (UI) components for modular coarsegrained reusable functionality, encapsulating best practices andmodularity, for planned maximized reuse and minimized redundancy. In thenext layer, Blake Application Components and Services Layer 106, non-UIapplication components for modular coarse grained reusablefunctionality, encapsulating best practices for maximized reuse andminimized redundancy, are located. Application services for externalaccess are located here. Note that UI and non-UI services are inseparate layers. In the next layer, Blake Applications Domain ModelsLayer 108, application domain metadata models are located. Theseservices are for shared access of application resources or externalaccess.

In the fifth layer down of the figure, Blake Platform Tools Layer 110,shared tools are built per a business task definition. In the next layerdown, Blake Platform UI Components Layer 112, user interface componentsfor modular coarse grained reusable functionality are stored. They aredesigned to encapsulate best practices and modularity for maximizedreuse and minimized redundancy of UI based artifacts. In the next layer,Blake Platform Components and Services Layer 114, non-UI components formodular coarse grained reusable functionality are located. Theyencapsulate best practices and modularity for maximized reuse andminimized redundancy of non-UI based artifacts. Services for externalaccess of platform components are located here. In the next layer, BlakeMetadata Models (a.k.a., Blake Semantic Model Layer 116), metadatamodels are built for declarative definitions. A single unified semanticmodel encompasses business intelligence (BI), enterprise performancemanagement (EPM), predictive analytics, etc.

In the bottom layer, Core Fusion Middleware (FMW) layer 118, technologyand components used for the production of the upper stack, e.g. OracleApplication Development Framework (ADF), Web Center, Art TechnologyGroup (ATG) Lite, etc., are located.

UI and non-UI services are kept separate by design, using features ofOracle JDeveloper (“JDev”). During development, the code artifactsdeployed within an EAR (enterprise archive) file are separated into twoJDev workspaces. The first is the “core” workspace, which is fordevelopment of non-UI based Java code and the data control providerswhich will expose those systems to the UI binding layer. The second isfor the UI components themselves, which will consume the data controlproviders developed in the core workspace.

A technical advantage to staging the workspaces this way allows adeveloper to restrict the data control providers to load into the JDevintegrated development environment (IDE) for the Web workspace anddisallow them to load into the JDev IDE for the core workspace. It isoften necessary to develop data control providers in a separateenvironment from the one where they are loaded. Developing and loadingthem in the same environment could cause JDev to not start due to a bugin the data control provider. Separation allows for debugging a UIproject even if there is an initialization issue with the provider.

FIG. 2 illustrates an instance 200 of the exemplary embodiment. The toptwo layers, Blake Applications Layer 202 and Blake Applications UIComponents Layer 204, are standard in this embodiment. In the thirdlayer, Blake Application Components and Services Layer 206,consolidation 220, elimination 222, and budgeting 224 services arelocated. In the fourth layer, Blake Application Domain Models Layer 208,EPM application models 226 and seeded content 228 are located.

In the fifth layer of the figure, Blake Platform Tools Layer 210,reports and analysis 230, common dimension maintenance 232, and Blakeadministrator 234 services are located. In the sixth layer, BlakePlatform UI Components Layer 212, EPM grid 236, EPM chart 238, and POV(point of view)/member selector tool 240 services are located. In theseventh layer, Blake Platform Components and Services Layer 214, thefollowing services are located: validation 242, messaging 244, querygenerator 246, query execution 248, office integration 250, sandboxing252, on-screen calculations 254, task flows 256, persistence 258, anddata controls 260. In the eighth layer, Blake Semantic Model Layer 216,dimension 262, metric 264, key performance indicator (KPI) 266, and cube268 extensions are located.

The bottom layer, Core FMW 218, is not discussed in this instance.

In order to achieve the target architecture, the exemplary embodiment ismodularized into a set of functional areas called sub-systems, whichbreak the exemplary embodiment up into manageable pieces that can beidentified, designed, de-risked, and produced.

These sub-systems define a public set of APIs (application programminginterfaces) for access to and manipulation of their internalfunctionality. The exemplary embodiment platform can provide coretechnology to be used in the re-design and implementation of manyexisting financial suite products. In order to build a platform thatwill encompass not only the existing functionality but allow for thedevelopment of new and innovative features, the exemplary embodimentplatform can provide an extension mechanism built in at the core of thesystem. There a number of requirements and design goals that benefitfrom this aspect.

One sub-system design goal of the platform is to encapsulate allinternals of the sub-systems. The sub-system design enforces that allaccess come thru public and defined interfaces. A technical advantage ofthis design is that it encourages and in many ways enforces that thesub-systems are decoupled from each other. This design further mandatesthat communication between specific sub-systems is done thru publicinterfaces and registered call-backs to specific types of functionality.

The sub-systems that communicate with other sub-systems viaconfiguration and call back delegation can be developed independently.It is preferred to maintain the isolation and keep all configurationinformation local to the participating sub-system. That is, developerspreferably should not be able to change sub-systems that they do notdirectly own.

The platform should evolve as features become available. This means thatthe platform itself should be cognizant of what features are currentlyavailable and what it can and cannot show to an end-user.

Based on schedules and priority there may be features required byconsumers of the platform that many not be provided by an internaldeveloper. As such, it would be prudent to allow features to be added tothe platform by other teams or partner companies.

The extension mechanism can be built into the core of the system. Theplatform itself can use this extension mechanism to register featuresfor extensible sub-systems. One goal of this paradigm is if the platformuses its own extension mechanism, external use will come at little or nodevelopment cost.

Application “extensions,” or “add-ins,” provide a way to extend theplatform without changing platform source or rebuilding the platformfiles or other extensions. Extensions can provide the same structure asthe platform and follow the same rules to generate a shared library thatcontains the UI and code for the extension. Extensions will provide aMAR file with the registration information needed to allow the platformto show the extension as an integrated component. Extension sharedlibraries will be deployed along with the platform shared library.

The overall design of the system can be a cooperating set of looselycoupled sub-systems. The sub-systems will be wired together orcommunicate via publicly defined interfaces. There may be one exceptionto this paradigm at the very core of an embodiment; namely the metadatadefinitions. There can be a number of sub-systems or portions ofsub-systems that will define metadata definitions which can be usedthroughout the system. These definitions are the exposed surface of thesub-systems in which they are designed. These definitions may beintended to be used directly by dependent sub-systems to achieve thedeclarative nature of the embodiment.

The sub-systems functionality will be encapsulated and exposed viastandard input and output specifications. The sub-systems, however,should still be factored in terms of the “Target Architecture.” In orderto achieve this, the sub-systems can be broken down into packagespecifications. It is important to note that the sub-systems as definedcan cut across the various layers of the “Target Architecture;”packages, however, typically may not. As part of the design aspect ofthe system, each sub-system will provide an overall design as well as apackage breakdown which will then be placed into the targetarchitecture. The sub-system breakdown is targeted to keep functionalboundaries clean; the subsequent package breakdown is targeted to keepthe delivery architecturally sound.

FIG. 3 illustrates the physical architecture of system 300, an exemplaryembodiment. An extranet desktop client 370, running Microsoft Office,Oracle Hyperion Smart View, and a Web browser may connect to the system300 using the hypertext transfer protocol-secure (HTTPS) or secure filetransfer protocol (SFTP) through the Internet 374 to a reverse proxyserver 378. The reverse proxy server 378 connects through a firewall 376to load balancer hardware 384 that uses compression and a secure socketlayer (SSL). An extranet mobile client 372 may run a native applicationand browser with HTTPS or SFTP through the same means. Alternatively orin addition, an intranet Web client 382 may run a browser with HTTPS orSFTP through a company intranet 380, connecting to dedicated loadbalancer hardware 384 that uses compression and a secure socket layer.

Behind a cloud enterprise firewall, the load balancer hardware 384connects with a pod 385. A pod is a logical grouping of one or morevirtual machines, such as an Oracle Virtual Machine (OVM). Pod 385 has afixed pod size and a fixed number of virtual machines, managed, anddeployed servers.

The pod 385 includes OVMs running a platform application, which connectsto Oracle precompiler (OPC) services, including Oracle Social Network(OSN) 394, Oracle Notification Service (ONS) 395, and a document servicethrough Oracle WebCenter 396. OVM 386 runs Oracle metadata services(MDS), employee self service (ESS), Web Content, Essbase Java API(JAPI), and Oracle platform security services (OPSS). OVM 388 runsOracle WebCenter for content, and OVM 390 runs an Oracleservice-oriented architecture (SOA) business process execution language(BPEL) engine. OVM 392 runs Jagent and OPSS with Essbase.

MDS, the SOA BPEL engine, and Jagent connect with Oracle text (search),WebCenter, Essbase (JAgent repository), ESS, ONS, SOA, ATO/ApplCore,MDS, and WC Content in module 397. The OPSSes connect with sharedidentify manager (IDM) 398, including a security store andidentification store.

The exemplary embodiment is built for multi-tenancy, with pods beingprovisioned based on the size of a customer and pod availability. Agiven pod can contain tenants all of the same size. The pod size and itsresources can remain constant, and the number of tenants a pod canservice can change based on its category. New pods can be spawned andassigned as the need grows and as tenant service level agreement (SLA)requirements dictate.

Products can be deployed into the platform using shared libraries andOracle Fusion middleware repository creation utility (RCU) scripts.Shared libraries can contain:

-   1. Java class files and libraries for the product;-   2. Web UI developed for the product;-   3. Registration metadata for MDS for registration of product    actions/views; and-   4. Predefined content for MDS, which may include Apps, Models,    Reports, Grids, etc.

A shared library's files nominally include:

-   1. JAR files for data control providers and back end code;-   2. a WAR (Web application archive) file, including JSPX and task    flows; and-   3. MAR (Mozilla archive) files, including product files and platform    registration.

An RCU script for setting up the database can be run against thedatabase.

Config Files

Several aspects of the exemplary system allow a product to modify thebehavior of the platform. One aspect is a collection of definedextensible markup language (XML) files deployed with the product intoOracle metadata services (MDS) in Fusion middleware. A second aspect iscustomized XML created using JDev customization and deployed with theproduct into MDS. The XML configuration files (a.k.a. “config files”)can be modified by developers, either within or outside of the cloudprovider, for their add-ins. The config files, if passed back to theBlake platform correctly, will be re-read upon a restart, and the systemwill automatically configure itself to use the new add-ins using the newconfig files.

One aspect of extensibility design is to leverage MDS layeredcustomizations of an XML file defined by an XML schema. A sub-systemthat requires the registration of extensions to its core functionalitywill define the extension points using an XML schema to declare thestructure of its configuration and two initial configuration files—onefor internal platform developments and one for external platformdevelopers. The actual modification and packaging of the extendedinformation can be done using Oracle JDeveloper Extensions and ADFLibrary Jars for modification and MAR deployments for packaging. Ofcourse, this is not limited to Oracle's cloud system but can bepracticed by any cloud SaaS provider.

FIG. 4 illustrates the passing of configuration files in accordance withan embodiment. In the figure, which shows process 400, time increaseswhen moving to the right. Config file 402 is produced by a cloud SaaSprovider. Config file 402 conforms to XML schema 401 and includes configdata for internal (i.e., internal to the cloud SaaS provider) sub-systemextensions. In step 403, an ‘empty’ copy of the config file 402 iscreated to produce config file 404. Empty config file 404 is notactually empty; rather, it contains no configuration entries based onXML schema 401. It merely contains headers and the like with no childelements. Empty config file 404 is provided to a 3rd party extensiondeveloper for editing, outside the cloud services provider. It can besaid that config file 404 is transferred across a cloud servicesprovider firewall to an computer environment not protected by thefirewall.

In step 405, the 3rd party extension developer modifies empty configfile 404 to create config file 406. Because the 3rd party extensiondeveloper would not normally delete any of the headers or related tagsfrom empty config file 404, it can be said that the 3rd party extensiondeveloper adds to empty config file 404 in order to create config file406.

In step 407, delta file 408 is created from the 3rd party extensiondeveloper's changes memorialized by config file 406. Delta file 408contains only changes from empty config file 404 to config file 406. Thedelta file is included in a MAR file, which is placed in an MDScustomization file. The delta file can be created automatically, withoutdirect human intervention.

Delta file 408 can be created by tracking a user's edits to the copy ofthe file. It can also be created by comparison between the starting andending documents. For example, document 406 can be compared withdocument 404 using a diff utility.

In step 409, delta file 408, within an MDS customization file, is parsedand automatically inserted or otherwise reconciled into config file 402to create config file 410, a unified configuration file. Unified configfile 410 can include delta file 408 as well as various other delta filesfrom other 3rd party extension and internal developers for theirextensions and add-ins. In some embodiments, unified config file 410 mayexist in volatile memory only and not on disk or other nonvolatilememory. In other embodiments, unified config file 410 can be saved asits own file in a file system.

In step 411, a restart of the system initiates a re-reading of theunified config file 410, such that the proper objects are instantiatedfrom classes in shared libraries. These shared libraries include unifiedconfig file 410, which configures the system for the proper objects tobe loaded.

If there is an error reading the configuration from delta file 408 inunified config file 410, the system 400 passes over it and continuesreading other configurations from the file. In this way, one developerwith faulty code does not corrupt the entire system. Instead, thedeveloper's extension is simply not available at run time.

FIG. 5 shows an XML schema file 401 in accordance with an embodiment.The first line of the schema file shows an encoding of (InternationalOrganization for Standardization) ISO-8859-1; however, other encodings,such as UCS Transformation Format-8 bit (UCS-8), can be used.

A “line” of code used herein can refer to a portion of codeuninterrupted by a carriage return and/or linefeed character, or asotherwise known in the art. In several occasions in the figures, a lineof code wraps to one or more subsequent lines on the figure.

The second line of the schema file specifies the standard namespace xsand associated uniform resource identifier (URI) for the standardnamespace, “http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema.” Other namespaces can alsobe used.

The third non-blank line defines the providers tag under which thesubsystems' configurations are located. Different tags can be used forinternal and external subsystems. Developers who work for the cloud SaaSprovider can enter configurations under the internal tag, while thirdparty developers can enter configurations under the external tags. Theexternal tags themselves may not be viewable to third party developers,as they are provided with a ‘blank’ XML file as described herein. Theproviders tag is a complex type, meaning that it contains child elementsand attributes.

The configuration element is defined next. The configuration element isa complex type that contains sub-elements name, type, factory, andmethod. In this embodiment, the sub-elements must be entered in sequencein the corresponding XML file, due to the “<sequence>” tag. All of theelements define the configuration of a sub-system, including whatmethods are called to load the sub-system into memory.

Different configuration elements can be used for internal and externalsubsystems. For simplicity, only one configuration element is shown inthis embodiment.

After all sub-elements are defined in an element, the element'sattributes are defined. An attribute is defined here for an optionalname. More child elements and attributes are definable as would beapparent to one of skill in the art.

FIG. 6 shows an internal XML config file in accordance with anembodiment. This config file 402 is visible to developers within thecloud SaaS provider.

The first line of the config file specifies the XML version andencoding, which are the same as in the previously described XML schema.

The second line uses the providers tag to specify that the XML fileshould be validated against the specified schema, as well as identify anamespace to be used.

In the next lines of the XML config file in this embodiment (after the<providers . . . > tag), two configurations follow, each defining thefour sub-elements of each element. These internal configurations may ormay not be inserted before a ‘blank’ version of the XML config file isprovided to outside, third party developers. The two sub-elements definethe name, type, factory, and method(s) for their respective coreservices. The values listed may be sensitive; thus, they are keptconfidential and not distributed in an external XML file.

FIG. 7 shows a blank XML config file in accordance with an embodiment.The blank config file 404 is not entirely empty; instead, it contains noconfigurations. The second non-whitespace line (which wraps for two morelines in the figure) specifies the XML schema that should be used tovalidate the XML file. A config file that has no configurationsub-elements under the providers tags, and is valid according to thespecified schema, can be referred to as a ‘blank’ config file. In thefigure, no sub-elements are defined within the providers tags.

The exemplary blank XML file is created using the first two lines andlast line of the XML config. file of the previous figure.

FIG. 8 shows additions to the blank XML config file in accordance withan embodiment, after it has been edited by an external developer. Thatis, config file 406 is config file 404 in which an external developerhas added a configuration, which is outlined by box 812. Theconfiguration, delineated with the proper tags, includes thesub-elements complying with the XML schema, including name, type,factory, and method. These sub-elements are to be read when they are putinto the unified configuration file. But first, the sub-elements aredistilled into a delta file.

FIG. 9 shows a delta file in accordance with an embodiment. Delta file408 includes only the differences between config file 406 and blankconfig file 404, which are the config sub-elements of box 812 (see FIG.8). That is, the configs entered by the external developer are placedinto the delta file.

Delta file 408 is packaged in an MDS customization file, along with codefor the actual sub-system. The MDS customization file is then copied toa shared library in the cloud SaaS system, where all of the code andconfigurations are located for the cloud SaaS system.

FIG. 10 shows a merged config file in accordance with an embodiment.Internal config file 402 has been merged with delta file 408 to createunified config file 410. At the top are the XML version and encoding,followed by the providers tags with the specified namespace and XMLschema. The internal configurations are included first, and then thethird party sub-system configuration, in box 812, is included. Themerging is performed behind the firewall of the cloud service provider,thereby ensuring secrecy of the internal configurations. That is, theinternal configuration never has to be transferred external to the cloudservice provider's firewall.

Although the internal configurations come first in the exemplaryembodiment, other orders of configurations are envisioned.

In some embodiments, an internal and external XML configuration filewill be packaged in two separate ADF Library Jars, which will allow thefiles to be customized in JDeveloper Studio. The internal file will beprovided to Blake platform developers to be included into their specificsub-system projects. Once there, a Blake platform developer can createthe customizations to this file in JDeveloper customizer role. Thecustomizations will be packaged by the project or sub-system in itsshared library as a MAR file.

The external file will be provided to external platform developers to beincluded in their projects. They can customize this file in the same wayinternal developers will customize the internal file. The provider ofthe sub-system and customization files will read these two files andmerge the results to form the global set of configurations.

Upon a restart of the cloud SaaS system, the unified configuration fileis read from the the shared library, and applicable code from the sharedlibrary is used to instantiate objects for use in the running instanceof the SaaS system.

Computing Systems

Systems depicted in some of the figures may be provided in variousconfigurations. In some embodiments, the systems may be configured as adistributed system where one or more components of the system aredistributed across one or more networks in a cloud computing system.

FIG. 11 depicts a simplified diagram of a distributed system 1100 forimplementing one of the embodiments. In the illustrated embodiment,distributed system 1100 includes one or more client computing devices1102, 1104, 1106, and 1108, which are configured to execute and operatea client application such as a web browser, proprietary client (e.g.,Oracle Forms), or the like over one or more network(s) 1110. Server 1112may be communicatively coupled with remote client computing devices1102, 1104, 1106, and 1108 via network 1110.

In various embodiments, server 1112 may be adapted to run one or moreservices or software applications provided by one or more of thecomponents of the system. In some embodiments, these services may beoffered as web-based or cloud services or under a Software as a Service(SaaS) model to the users of client computing devices 1102, 1104, 1106,and/or 1108. Users operating client computing devices 1102, 1104, 1106,and/or 1108 may in turn utilize one or more client applications tointeract with server 1112 to utilize the services provided by thesecomponents.

In the configuration depicted in the figure, the software components1118, 1120 and 1122 of system 1100 are shown as being implemented onserver 1112. In other embodiments, one or more of the components ofsystem 1100 and/or the services provided by these components may also beimplemented by one or more of the client computing devices 1102, 1104,1106, and/or 1108. Users operating the client computing devices may thenutilize one or more client applications to use the services provided bythese components. These components may be implemented in hardware,firmware, software, or combinations thereof. It should be appreciatedthat various different system configurations are possible, which may bedifferent from distributed system 1100. The embodiment shown in thefigure is thus one example of a distributed system for implementing anembodiment system and is not intended to be limiting.

Client computing devices 1102, 1104, 1106, and/or 1108 may be portablehandheld devices (e.g., an iPhone®, cellular telephone, an iPad®,computing tablet, a personal digital assistant (PDA)) or wearabledevices (e.g., a Google Glass® head mounted display), running softwaresuch as Microsoft Windows Mobile®, and/or a variety of mobile operatingsystems such as iOS, Windows Phone, Android, BlackBerry 10, Palm OS, andthe like, and being Internet, e-mail, short message service (SMS),Blackberry®, or other communication protocol enabled. The clientcomputing devices can be general purpose personal computers including,by way of example, personal computers and/or laptop computers runningvarious versions of Microsoft Windows®, Apple Macintosh®, and/or Linuxoperating systems. The client computing devices can be workstationcomputers running any of a variety of commercially-available UNIX® orUNIX-like operating systems, including without limitation the variety ofGNU/Linux operating systems, such as for example, Google Chrome OS.Alternatively, or in addition, client computing devices 1102, 1104,1106, and 1108 may be any other electronic device, such as a thin-clientcomputer, an Internet-enabled gaming system (e.g., a Microsoft Xboxgaming console with or without a Kinect® gesture input device), and/or apersonal messaging device, capable of communicating over network(s)1110.

Although exemplary distributed system 1100 is shown with four clientcomputing devices, any number of client computing devices may besupported. Other devices, such as devices with sensors, etc., mayinteract with server 1112.

Network(s) 1110 in distributed system 1100 may be any type of networkfamiliar to those skilled in the art that can support datacommunications using any of a variety of commercially-availableprotocols, including without limitation TCP/IP (transmission controlprotocol/Internet protocol), SNA (systems network architecture), IPX(Internet packet exchange), AppleTalk, and the like. Merely by way ofexample, network(s) 1110 can be a local area network (LAN), such as onebased on Ethernet, Token-Ring and/or the like. Network(s) 1110 can be awide-area network and the Internet. It can include a virtual network,including without limitation a virtual private network (VPN), anintranet, an extranet, a public switched telephone network (PSTN), aninfra-red network, a wireless network (e.g., a network operating underany of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics (IEEE) 802.11 suiteof protocols, Bluetooth®, and/or any other wireless protocol); and/orany combination of these and/or other networks.

Server 812 may be composed of one or more general purpose computers,specialized server computers (including, by way of example, PC (personalcomputer) servers, UNIX® servers, mid-range servers, mainframecomputers, rack-mounted servers, etc.), server farms, server clusters,or any other appropriate arrangement and/or combination. In variousembodiments, server 1112 may be adapted to run one or more services orsoftware applications described in the foregoing disclosure. Forexample, server 1112 may correspond to a server for performingprocessing described above according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

Server 1112 may run an operating system including any of those discussedabove, as well as any commercially available server operating system.Server 1112 may also run any of a variety of additional serverapplications and/or mid-tier applications, including HTTP (hypertexttransport protocol) servers, FTP (file transfer protocol) servers, CGI(common gateway interface) servers, JAVA® servers, database servers, andthe like. Exemplary database servers include without limitation thosecommercially available from Oracle, Microsoft, Sybase, IBM(International Business Machines), and the like.

In some implementations, server 1112 may include one or moreapplications to analyze and consolidate data feeds and/or event updatesreceived from users of client computing devices 1102, 1104, 1106, and1108. As an example, data feeds and/or event updates may include, butare not limited to, Twitter® feeds, Facebook® updates or real-timeupdates received from one or more third party information sources andcontinuous data streams, which may include real-time events related tosensor data applications, financial tickers, network performancemeasuring tools (e.g., network monitoring and traffic managementapplications), clickstream analysis tools, automobile trafficmonitoring, and the like. Server 1112 may also include one or moreapplications to display the data feeds and/or real-time events via oneor more display devices of client computing devices 1102, 1104, 1106,and 1108.

Distributed system 1100 may also include one or more databases 1114 and1116. Databases 1114 and 1116 may reside in a variety of locations. Byway of example, one or more of databases 1114 and 1116 may reside on anon-transitory storage medium local to (and/or resident in) server 1112.Alternatively, databases 1114 and 1116 may be remote from server 1112and in communication with server 1112 via a network-based or dedicatedconnection. In one set of embodiments, databases 1114 and 1116 mayreside in a storage-area network (SAN). Similarly, any necessary filesfor performing the functions attributed to server 1112 may be storedlocally on server 1112 and/or remotely, as appropriate. In one set ofembodiments, databases 1114 and 1116 may include relational databases,such as databases provided by Oracle, that are adapted to store, update,and retrieve data in response to SQL-formatted commands.

FIG. 12 is a simplified block diagram of one or more components of asystem environment 1200 by which services provided by one or morecomponents of an embodiment system may be offered as cloud services, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In theillustrated embodiment, system environment 1200 includes one or moreclient computing devices 1204, 1206, and 1208 that may be used by usersto interact with a cloud infrastructure system 1202 that provides cloudservices. The client computing devices may be configured to operate aclient application such as a web browser, a proprietary clientapplication (e.g., Oracle Forms), or some other application, which maybe used by a user of the client computing device to interact with cloudinfrastructure system 1202 to use services provided by cloudinfrastructure system 1202.

It should be appreciated that cloud infrastructure system 1202 depictedin the figure may have other components than those depicted. Further,the embodiment shown in the figure is only one example of a cloudinfrastructure system that may incorporate an embodiment of theinvention. In some other embodiments, cloud infrastructure system 1202may have more or fewer components than shown in the figure, may combinetwo or more components, or may have a different configuration orarrangement of components.

Client computing devices 1204, 1206, and 1208 may be devices similar tothose described above for 1102, 1104, 1106, and 1108.

Although exemplary system environment 1200 is shown with three clientcomputing devices, any number of client computing devices may besupported. Other devices such as devices with sensors, etc. may interactwith cloud infrastructure system 1202.

Network(s) 1210 may facilitate communications and exchange of databetween clients 1204, 1206, and 1208 and cloud infrastructure system1202. Each network may be any type of network familiar to those skilledin the art that can support data communications using any of a varietyof commercially-available protocols, including those described above fornetwork(s) 1110.

Cloud infrastructure system 1202 may comprise one or more computersand/or servers that may include those described above for server 1112.

In certain embodiments, services provided by the cloud infrastructuresystem may include a host of services that are made available to usersof the cloud infrastructure system on demand, such as online datastorage and backup solutions, Web-based e-mail services, hosted officesuites and document collaboration services, database processing, managedtechnical support services, and the like. Services provided by the cloudinfrastructure system can dynamically scale to meet the needs of itsusers. A specific instantiation of a service provided by cloudinfrastructure system is referred to herein as a “service instance.” Ingeneral, any service made available to a user via a communicationnetwork, such as the Internet, from a cloud service provider's system isreferred to as a “cloud service.” Typically, in a public cloudenvironment, servers and systems that make up the cloud serviceprovider's system are different from the customer's own on-premisesservers and systems. For example, a cloud service provider's system mayhost an application, and a user may, via a communication network such asthe Internet, on demand, order and use the application.

In some examples, a service in a computer network cloud infrastructuremay include protected computer network access to storage, a hosteddatabase, a hosted web server, a software application, or other serviceprovided by a cloud vendor to a user, or as otherwise known in the art.For example, a service can include password-protected access to remotestorage on the cloud through the Internet. As another example, a servicecan include a web service-based hosted relational database and ascript-language middleware engine for private use by a networkeddeveloper. As another example, a service can include access to an emailsoftware application hosted on a cloud vendor's web site.

In certain embodiments, cloud infrastructure system 1202 may include asuite of applications, middleware, and database service offerings thatare delivered to a customer in a self-service, subscription-based,elastically scalable, reliable, highly available, and secure manner. Anexample of such a cloud infrastructure system is the Oracle Public Cloudprovided by the present assignee.

In various embodiments, cloud infrastructure system 1202 may be adaptedto automatically provision, manage and track a customer's subscriptionto services offered by cloud infrastructure system 1202. Cloudinfrastructure system 1202 may provide the cloud services via differentdeployment models. For example, services may be provided under a publiccloud model in which cloud infrastructure system 1202 is owned by anorganization selling cloud services (e.g., owned by Oracle) and theservices are made available to the general public or different industryenterprises. As another example, services may be provided under aprivate cloud model in which cloud infrastructure system 1202 isoperated solely for a single organization and may provide services forone or more entities within the organization. The cloud services mayalso be provided under a community cloud model in which cloudinfrastructure system 1202 and the services provided by cloudinfrastructure system 1202 are shared by several organizations in arelated community. The cloud services may also be provided under ahybrid cloud model, which is a combination of two or more differentmodels.

In some embodiments, the services provided by cloud infrastructuresystem 1202 may include one or more services provided under Software asa Service (SaaS) category, Platform as a Service (PaaS) category,Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) category, or other categories ofservices including hybrid services. A customer, via a subscriptionorder, may order one or more services provided by cloud infrastructuresystem 1202. Cloud infrastructure system 1202 then performs processingto provide the services in the customer's subscription order.

In some embodiments, the services provided by cloud infrastructuresystem 1202 may include, without limitation, application services,platform services and infrastructure services. In some examples,application services may be provided by the cloud infrastructure systemvia a SaaS platform. The SaaS platform may be configured to providecloud services that fall under the SaaS category. For example, the SaaSplatform may provide capabilities to build and deliver a suite ofon-demand applications on an integrated development and deploymentplatform. The SaaS platform may manage and control the underlyingsoftware and infrastructure for providing the SaaS services. Byutilizing the services provided by the SaaS platform, customers canutilize applications executing on the cloud infrastructure system.Customers can acquire the application services without the need forcustomers to purchase separate licenses and support. Various differentSaaS services may be provided. Examples include, without limitation,services that provide solutions for sales performance management,enterprise integration, and business flexibility for largeorganizations.

In some embodiments, platform services may be provided by the cloudinfrastructure system via a PaaS platform. The PaaS platform may beconfigured to provide cloud services that fall under the PaaS category.Examples of platform services may include without limitation servicesthat enable organizations (such as Oracle) to consolidate existingapplications on a shared, common architecture, as well as the ability tobuild new applications that leverage the shared services provided by theplatform. The PaaS platform may manage and control the underlyingsoftware and infrastructure for providing the PaaS services. Customerscan acquire the PaaS services provided by the cloud infrastructuresystem without the need for customers to purchase separate licenses andsupport. Examples of platform services include, without limitation,Oracle Java Cloud Service (JCS), Oracle Database Cloud Service (DBCS),and others.

By utilizing the services provided by the PaaS platform, customers canemploy programming languages and tools supported by the cloudinfrastructure system and also control the deployed services. In someembodiments, platform services provided by the cloud infrastructuresystem may include database cloud services, middleware cloud services(e.g., Oracle Fusion Middleware services), and Java cloud services. Inone embodiment, database cloud services may support shared servicedeployment models that enable organizations to pool database resourcesand offer customers a Database as a Service in the form of a databasecloud. Middleware cloud services may provide a platform for customers todevelop and deploy various business applications, and Java cloudservices may provide a platform for customers to deploy Javaapplications, in the cloud infrastructure system.

Various different infrastructure services may be provided by an IaaSplatform in the cloud infrastructure system. The infrastructure servicesfacilitate the management and control of the underlying computingresources, such as storage, networks, and other fundamental computingresources for customers utilizing services provided by the SaaS platformand the PaaS platform.

In certain embodiments, cloud infrastructure system 1202 may alsoinclude infrastructure resources 1230 for providing the resources usedto provide various services to customers of the cloud infrastructuresystem. In one embodiment, infrastructure resources 1230 may includepre-integrated and optimized combinations of hardware, such as servers,storage, and networking resources to execute the services provided bythe PaaS platform and the SaaS platform.

In some embodiments, resources in cloud infrastructure system 1202 maybe shared by multiple users and dynamically re-allocated per demand.Additionally, resources may be allocated to users in different timezones. For example, cloud infrastructure system 1230 may enable a firstset of users in a first time zone to utilize resources of the cloudinfrastructure system for a specified number of hours and then enablethe re-allocation of the same resources to another set of users locatedin a different time zone, thereby maximizing the utilization ofresources.

In certain embodiments, a number of internal shared services 1232 may beprovided that are shared by different components or modules of cloudinfrastructure system 1202 and by the services provided by cloudinfrastructure system 1202. These internal shared services may include,without limitation, a security and identity service, an integrationservice, an enterprise repository service, an enterprise managerservice, a virus scanning and white list service, a high availability,backup and recovery service, service for enabling cloud support, anemail service, a notification service, a file transfer service, and thelike.

In certain embodiments, cloud infrastructure system 1202 may providecomprehensive management of cloud services (e.g., SaaS, PaaS, and IaaSservices) in the cloud infrastructure system. In one embodiment, cloudmanagement functionality may include capabilities for provisioning,managing and tracking a customer's subscription received by cloudinfrastructure system 1202, and the like.

In one embodiment, as depicted in the figure, cloud managementfunctionality may be provided by one or more modules, such as an ordermanagement module 1220, an order orchestration module 1222, an orderprovisioning module 1224, an order management and monitoring module1226, and an identity management module 1228. These modules may includeor be provided using one or more computers and/or servers, which may begeneral purpose computers, specialized server computers, server farms,server clusters, or any other appropriate arrangement and/orcombination.

In exemplary operation 1234, a customer using a client device, such asclient device 1204, 1206 or 1208, may interact with cloud infrastructuresystem 1202 by requesting one or more services provided by cloudinfrastructure system 1202 and placing an order for a subscription forone or more services offered by cloud infrastructure system 1202. Incertain embodiments, the customer may access a cloud User Interface(UI), cloud UI 1212, cloud UI 1214 and/or cloud UI 1216 and place asubscription order via these UIs. The order information received bycloud infrastructure system 1202 in response to the customer placing anorder may include information identifying the customer and one or moreservices offered by the cloud infrastructure system 1202 that thecustomer intends to subscribe to.

After an order has been placed by the customer, the order information isreceived via the cloud UIs, 1212, 1214 and/or 1216.

At operation 1236, the order is stored in order database 1218. Orderdatabase 1218 can be one of several databases operated by cloudinfrastructure system 1218 and operated in conjunction with other systemelements.

At operation 1238, the order information is forwarded to an ordermanagement module 1220. In some instances, order management module 1220may be configured to perform billing and accounting functions related tothe order, such as verifying the order, and upon verification, bookingthe order.

At operation 1240, information regarding the order is communicated to anorder orchestration module 1222. Order orchestration module 1222 mayutilize the order information to orchestrate the provisioning ofservices and resources for the order placed by the customer. In someinstances, order orchestration module 1222 may orchestrate theprovisioning of resources to support the subscribed services using theservices of order provisioning module 1224.

In certain embodiments, order orchestration module 1222 enables themanagement of business processes associated with each order and appliesbusiness logic to determine whether an order should proceed toprovisioning. At operation 1242, upon receiving an order for a newsubscription, order orchestration module 1222 sends a request to orderprovisioning module 1224 to allocate resources and configure thoseresources needed to fulfill the subscription order. Order provisioningmodule 1224 enables the allocation of resources for the services orderedby the customer. Order provisioning module 1224 provides a level ofabstraction between the cloud services provided by cloud infrastructuresystem 1200 and the physical implementation layer that is used toprovision the resources for providing the requested services. Orderorchestration module 1222 may thus be isolated from implementationdetails, such as whether or not services and resources are actuallyprovisioned on the fly or pre-provisioned and only allocated/assignedupon request.

At operation 1244, once the services and resources are provisioned, anotification of the provided service may be sent to customers on clientdevices 1204, 1206 and/or 1208 by order provisioning module 1224 ofcloud infrastructure system 1202.

At operation 1246, the customer's subscription order may be managed andtracked by an order management and monitoring module 1226. In someinstances, order management and monitoring module 1226 may be configuredto collect usage statistics for the services in the subscription order,such as the amount of storage used, the amount data transferred, thenumber of users, and the amount of system up time and system down time.

In certain embodiments, cloud infrastructure system 1200 may include anidentity management module 1228. Identity management module 1228 may beconfigured to provide identity services, such as access management andauthorization services in cloud infrastructure system 1200. In someembodiments, identity management module 1228 may control informationabout customers who wish to utilize the services provided by cloudinfrastructure system 1202. Such information can include informationthat authenticates the identities of such customers and information thatdescribes which actions those customers are authorized to performrelative to various system resources (e.g., files, directories,applications, communication ports, memory segments, etc.) Identitymanagement module 1228 may also include the management of descriptiveinformation about each customer and about how and by whom thatdescriptive information can be accessed and modified.

FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary computer system 1300, in which variousembodiments of the present invention may be implemented. The system 1300may be used to implement any of the computer systems described above. Asshown in the figure, computer system 1300 includes a processing unit1304 that communicates with a number of peripheral subsystems via a bussubsystem 1302. These peripheral subsystems may include a processingacceleration unit 1306, an I/O subsystem 1308, a storage subsystem 1318and a communications subsystem 1324. Storage subsystem 1318 includestangible computer-readable storage media 1322 and a system memory 1310.

Bus subsystem 1302 provides a mechanism for letting the variouscomponents and subsystems of computer system 1300 communicate with eachother as intended. Although bus subsystem 1302 is shown schematically asa single bus, alternative embodiments of the bus subsystem may utilizemultiple buses. Bus subsystem 1302 may be any of several types of busstructures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheralbus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. Forexample, such architectures may include an Industry StandardArchitecture (ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, EnhancedISA (EISA) bus, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) localbus, and Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, which can beimplemented as a Mezzanine bus manufactured to the IEEE P1386.1standard.

Processing unit 1304, which can be implemented as one or more integratedcircuits (e.g., a conventional microprocessor or microcontroller),controls the operation of computer system 1300. One or more processorsmay be included in processing unit 1304. These processors may includesingle core or multicore processors. In certain embodiments, processingunit 1304 may be implemented as one or more independent processing units1332 and/or 1334 with single or multicore processors included in eachprocessing unit. In other embodiments, processing unit 1304 may also beimplemented as a quad-core processing unit formed by integrating twodual-core processors into a single chip.

In various embodiments, processing unit 1304 can execute a variety ofprograms in response to program code and can maintain multipleconcurrently executing programs or processes. At any given time, some orall of the program code to be executed can be resident in processor(s)1304 and/or in storage subsystem 1318. Through suitable programming,processor(s) 1304 can provide various functionalities described above.Computer system 1300 may additionally include a processing accelerationunit 1306, which can include a digital signal processor (DSP), aspecial-purpose processor, and/or the like.

I/O subsystem 1308 may include user interface input devices and userinterface output devices. User interface input devices may include akeyboard, pointing devices such as a mouse or trackball, a touchpad ortouch screen incorporated into a display, a scroll wheel, a click wheel,a dial, a button, a switch, a keypad, audio input devices with voicecommand recognition systems, microphones, and other types of inputdevices. User interface input devices may include, for example, motionsensing and/or gesture recognition devices such as the Microsoft Kinect®motion sensor that enables users to control and interact with an inputdevice, such as the Microsoft Xbox® 360 game controller, through anatural user interface using gestures and spoken commands. Userinterface input devices may also include eye gesture recognition devicessuch as the Google Glass® blink detector that detects eye activity(e.g., ‘blinking’ while taking pictures and/or making a menu selection)from users and transforms the eye gestures as input into an input device(e.g., Google Glass®). Additionally, user interface input devices mayinclude voice recognition sensing devices that enable users to interactwith voice recognition systems (e.g., Siri® navigator), through voicecommands.

User interface input devices may also include, without limitation, threedimensional (3D) mice, joysticks or pointing sticks, gamepads andgraphic tablets, and audio/visual devices such as speakers, digitalcameras, digital camcorders, portable media players, webcams, imagescanners, fingerprint scanners, barcode reader 3D scanners, 3D printers,laser rangefinders, and eye gaze tracking devices. Additionally, userinterface input devices may include, for example, medical imaging inputdevices such as computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging,position emission tomography, medical ultrasonography devices. Userinterface input devices may also include, for example, audio inputdevices such as MIDI keyboards, digital musical instruments and thelike.

User interface output devices may include a display subsystem, indicatorlights, or non-visual displays such as audio output devices, etc. Thedisplay subsystem may be a cathode ray tube (CRT), a flat-panel device,such as that using a liquid crystal display (LCD) or plasma display, aprojection device, a touch screen, and the like. In general, use of theterm “output device” is intended to include all possible types ofdevices and mechanisms for outputting information from computer system1300 to a user or other computer. For example, user interface outputdevices may include, without limitation, a variety of display devicesthat visually convey text, graphics and audio/video information such asmonitors, printers, speakers, headphones, automotive navigation systems,plotters, voice output devices, and modems.

Computer system 1300 may comprise a storage subsystem 1318 thatcomprises software elements, shown as being currently located within asystem memory 1310. System memory 1310 may store program instructionsthat are loadable and executable on processing unit 1304, as well asdata generated during the execution of these programs.

Depending on the configuration and type of computer system 1300, systemmemory 1310 may be volatile (such as random access memory (RAM)) and/ornon-volatile (such as read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, etc.) TheRAM typically contains data and/or program modules that are immediatelyaccessible to and/or presently being operated and executed by processingunit 1304. In some implementations, system memory 1310 may includemultiple different types of memory, such as static random access memory(SRAM) or dynamic random access memory (DRAM). In some implementations,a basic input/output system (BIOS), containing the basic routines thathelp to transfer information between elements within computer system1300, such as during start-up, may typically be stored in the ROM. Byway of example, and not limitation, system memory 1310 also illustratesapplication programs 1312, which may include client applications, Webbrowsers, mid-tier applications, relational database management systems(RDBMS), etc., program data 1314, and an operating system 1316. By wayof example, operating system 1316 may include various versions ofMicrosoft Windows®, Apple Macintosh®, and/or Linux operating systems, avariety of commercially-available UNIX® or UNIX-like operating systems(including without limitation the variety of GNU/Linux operatingsystems, the Google Chrome® OS, and the like) and/or mobile operatingsystems such as iOS, Windows® Phone, Android® OS, BlackBerry® 10 OS, andPalm® OS operating systems.

Storage subsystem 1318 may also provide a tangible computer-readablestorage medium for storing the basic programming and data constructsthat provide the functionality of some embodiments. Software (programs,code modules, instructions) that when executed by a processor providethe functionality described above may be stored in storage subsystem1318. These software modules or instructions may be executed byprocessing unit 1304. Storage subsystem 1318 may also provide arepository for storing data used in accordance with the presentinvention.

Storage subsystem 1300 may also include a computer-readable storagemedia reader 1320 that can further be connected to computer-readablestorage media 1322. Together and, optionally, in combination with systemmemory 1310, computer-readable storage media 1322 may comprehensivelyrepresent remote, local, fixed, and/or removable storage devices plusstorage media for temporarily and/or more permanently containing,storing, transmitting, and retrieving computer-readable information.

Computer-readable storage media 1322 containing code, or portions ofcode, can also include any appropriate media known or used in the art,including storage media and communication media, such as but not limitedto, volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable mediaimplemented in any method or technology for storage and/or transmissionof information. This can include tangible computer-readable storagemedia such as RAM, ROM, electronically erasable programmable ROM(EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digitalversatile disk (DVD), or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes,magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices,or other tangible computer readable media. This can also includenontangible computer-readable media, such as data signals, datatransmissions, or any other medium which can be used to transmit thedesired information and which can be accessed by computing system 1300.

By way of example, computer-readable storage media 1322 may include ahard disk drive that reads from or writes to non-removable, nonvolatilemagnetic media, a magnetic disk drive that reads from or writes to aremovable, nonvolatile magnetic disk, and an optical disk drive thatreads from or writes to a removable, nonvolatile optical disk such as aCD ROM, DVD, and Blu-Ray® disk, or other optical media.Computer-readable storage media 1322 may include, but is not limited to,Zip® drives, flash memory cards, universal serial bus (USB) flashdrives, secure digital (SD) cards, DVD disks, digital video tape, andthe like. Computer-readable storage media 1322 may also include,solid-state drives (SSD) based on non-volatile memory such asflash-memory based SSDs, enterprise flash drives, solid state ROM, andthe like, SSDs based on volatile memory such as solid state RAM, dynamicRAM, static RAM, DRAM-based SSDs, magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM) SSDs, andhybrid SSDs that use a combination of DRAM and flash memory based SSDs.The disk drives and their associated computer-readable media may providenon-volatile storage of computer-readable instructions, data structures,program modules, and other data for computer system 1300.

Communications subsystem 1324 provides an interface to other computersystems and networks. Communications subsystem 1324 serves as aninterface for receiving data from and transmitting data to other systemsfrom computer system 1300. For example, communications subsystem 1324may enable computer system 1300 to connect to one or more devices viathe Internet. In some embodiments communications subsystem 1324 caninclude radio frequency (RF) transceiver components for accessingwireless voice and/or data networks (e.g., using cellular telephonetechnology, advanced data network technology, such as 3G, 4G or EDGE(enhanced data rates for global evolution), WiFi (IEEE 802.11 familystandards, or other mobile communication technologies, or anycombination thereof), global positioning system (GPS) receivercomponents, and/or other components. In some embodiments communicationssubsystem 1324 can provide wired network connectivity (e.g., Ethernet)in addition to or instead of a wireless interface.

In some embodiments, communications subsystem 1324 may also receiveinput communication in the form of structured and/or unstructured datafeeds 1326, event streams 1328, event updates 1330, and the like onbehalf of one or more users who may use computer system 1300.

By way of example, communications subsystem 1324 may be configured toreceive data feeds 1326 in real-time from users of social networksand/or other communication services such as Twitter® feeds, Facebook®updates, web feeds such as Rich Site Summary (RSS) feeds, and/orreal-time updates from one or more third party information sources.

Additionally, communications subsystem 1324 may also be configured toreceive data in the form of continuous data streams, which may includeevent streams 1328 of real-time events and/or event updates 1330, thatmay be continuous or unbounded in nature with no explicit end. Examplesof applications that generate continuous data may include, for example,sensor data applications, financial tickers, network performancemeasuring tools (e.g. network monitoring and traffic managementapplications), clickstream analysis tools, automobile trafficmonitoring, and the like.

Communications subsystem 1324 may also be configured to output thestructured and/or unstructured data feeds 1326, event streams 1328,event updates 1330, and the like to one or more databases that may be incommunication with one or more streaming data source computers coupledto computer system 1300.

Computer system 1300 can be one of various types, including a handheldportable device (e.g., an iPhone® cellular phone, an iPad® computingtablet, a PDA), a wearable device (e.g., a Google Glass® head mounteddisplay), a PC, a workstation, a mainframe, a kiosk, a server rack, orany other data processing system.

Due to the ever-changing nature of computers and networks, thedescription of computer system 1300 depicted in the figure is intendedonly as a specific example. Many other configurations having more orfewer components than the system depicted in the figure are possible.For example, customized hardware might also be used and/or particularelements might be implemented in hardware, firmware, software (includingapplets), or a combination. Further, connection to other computingdevices, such as network input/output devices, may be employed. Based onthe disclosure and teachings provided herein, a person of ordinary skillin the art will appreciate other ways and/or methods to implement thevarious embodiments.

In the foregoing specification, aspects of the invention are describedwith reference to specific embodiments thereof, but those skilled in theart will recognize that the invention is not limited thereto. Variousfeatures and aspects of the above-described invention may be usedindividually or jointly. Further, embodiments can be utilized in anynumber of environments and applications beyond those described hereinwithout departing from the broader spirit and scope of thespecification. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to beregarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: defining, in a first configfile based on a file schema, an access rule for a feature of a servicein a cloud environment; creating, by a computing system of a serviceprovider system, an empty config file based on the first config file,wherein the empty config file contains headers based on the first configfile and the empty config file contains no configuration entries;providing, by the computing system of the service provider system, to acomputing device external to the service provider system, the emptyconfig file to enable editing of the empty config file at the computingdevice; determining, by the computing system, a change to the emptyconfig file based on editing of the empty config file at the computingdevice; creating, by the computing system, a delta file comprising thechange to the empty config file, wherein the change is identified asdefining a service access of the feature of the service; modifying, bythe computing system, an archive formatted file that is included in alibrary of class files, wherein the archive formatted file is modifiedto include the created delta file; creating, by the computing system, aunified config file having the feature of the service, wherein theunified config file is created by merging the delta file with the firstconfig file; reading, by the computing system, the unified config file;and in response to reacting the unified config file, instantiating, bythe computing system, an object for the feature of the service using theunified config file.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:reading the file schema, wherein the file schema defines an element, achild element, and an attribute; receiving the empty config file;allowing editing of the empty config file to change the empty configfile to define the service access of the feature of the service; andinitializing the object using the unified config file.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: initiating the computing system to restart,wherein restarting the computing system causes the computing system toread the unified config file; and after the computing system hasrestarted, configuring, by the computing system, the feature of theservice based on the object instantiated for the feature of the service.4. The method of claim 1, wherein the computing system is included in acloud computer system that provides a cloud environment for one or moretenants of the service provider system.
 5. The method of claim 1,further comprising: determining whether to grant access to the featureof the service based on the service access in the unified config fileused to instantiate the object.
 6. The method of claim 5, furthercomprising: denying the access to the feature of the service based ondetermining not to grant the access to the feature of the service; andgranting the access to the feature of the service based on determiningto grant the access to the feature of the service.
 7. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: detecting an error reading one or moreconfigurations for the service access of the feature from the unifiedconfig file; and upon detecting the error, preventing the one or moreconfigurations from being read from the unified config file; wherein theobject for the feature of the service is instantiated without using theone or more configurations that are prevented from being read from theunified config file.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the unifiedconfig file is an executable code config file.
 9. The method of claim 1,wherein the file schema includes an extensible markup language (XML)schema, and wherein the first config file conforms to the XML schema.10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first config file is in anApplication Development Framework (ADF) library jar file.
 11. A systemcomprising: at least one processor; a memory accessible to the at leastone processor, the memory storing instructions executable by the atleast one processor to perform operations comprising: defining, in afirst config file based on a file schema, an access rule for a featureof a service in a cloud environment; creating an empty config file basedon the first config file, wherein the empty config file contains headersbased on the first config file and the empty config file contains noconfiguration entries; providing, by a service provider system, to acomputing device external to the service provider system, the emptyconfig file to enable editing of the empty config file at the computingdevice; determining a change to the empty config file based on editingof the empty config file at the computing device; creating a delta filecomprising the change to the empty config file, wherein the change isidentified as defining a service access of the feature of the service;modifying an archive formatted file that is included in a library ofclass files, wherein the archive formatted file is modified to includethe created delta file; creating a unified config file having thefeature of the service, wherein the unified config file is created bymerging the delta file with the first config file; reading the unifiedconfig file; and in response to reading the unified config file,instantiating an object for the feature of the service using the unifiedconfig file.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the operations furthercomprise: initiating the system to restart, wherein restarting thesystem causes the reading of the unified config file; and after thesystem has restarted, configuring the feature of the service based onthe object instantiated for the feature of the service.
 13. The systemof claim 11, wherein the at least one processor and the memory areincluded in a cloud computer system that provides a cloud environmentfor one or more tenants.
 14. The system of claim 11, wherein theoperations further comprise: determining whether to grant access to thefeature of the service based on the service access in the unified configfile used to instantiate the object; denying the access to the featureof the service based on determining not to grant the access to thefeature of the service; and granting the access to the feature of theservice based on determining to grant the access to the feature of theservice.
 15. The system of claim 11, wherein the operations furthercomprise: detecting an error reading one or more configurations for theservice access of the feature from the unified config file; and upondetecting the error, preventing the one or more configurations frombeing read from the unified config file; wherein the object for thefeature of the service is instantiated without using the one or moreconfigurations that are prevented from being read from the unifiedconfig file.
 16. The system of claim 11, wherein the file schemaincludes an extensible markup language (XML) schema, and wherein thefirst config file conforms to the XML schema.
 17. A non-transitorymachine-readable tangible medium storing instructions for causing one ormore machines of a service provider system to perform operationscomprising: defining, in a first config file based on a file schema, anaccess rule for a feature of a service in a cloud environment; creatingan empty config file based on the first config file, wherein the emptyconfig file contains headers based on the first config file and theempty config file contains no configuration entries; providing to acomputing device external to the service provider system, the emptyconfig file to enable editing of the empty config file at the computingdevice; determining a change to the empty config file based on editingof the empty config file at the computing device; creating a delta filecomprising the change to the empty config file, wherein the change isidentified as defining a service access of the feature of the service;modifying an archive formatted file that is included in a library ofclass files, wherein the archive formatted file is modified to includethe created delta file; creating a unified config file having thefeature of the service, wherein the unified config file is created bymerging the delta file with the first config file; reading the unifiedconfig file; and in response to reading the unified config file,instantiating an object for the feature of the service using the unifiedconfig file.
 18. The non-transitory machine-readable tangible medium ofclaim 17, wherein the operations further comprise: determining whetherto grant access to the feature of the service based on the serviceaccess in the unified config file used to instantiate the object;denying the access to the feature of the service based on determiningnot to grant the access to the feature of the service; and granting theaccess to the feature of the service based on determining to grant theaccess to the feature of the service.
 19. The non-transitorymachine-readable tangible medium of claim 17, wherein the operationsfurther comprise: detecting an error reading one or more configurationsfor the service access of the feature from the unified config file; andupon detecting the error, preventing the one or more configurations frombeing read from the unified config file; wherein the object for thefeature of the service is instantiated without using the one or moreconfigurations that are prevented from being read from the unifiedconfig file.
 20. The non-transitory machine-readable tangible medium ofclaim 17, wherein the service provider system is a cloud computer systemthat provides a cloud environment for one or more tenants of the serviceprovider system.